Take It Slow

• Listen to soothing music and use headphones. Buy a CD or go to iTunes to build your collection of relaxing music that will put you in a peaceful mood. Headphones will also drown the surrounding noise. • Don’t put too many icons on your desktop. Remove all application shortcuts and use a launcher program instead that will only require you to type the name of the program, folder or file that you want to open after a few keystroke combinations. Store all your files into My

Documents and hide the rest of the icons. • Declutter your walls and floors. Sort through all the things on the floor and keep those things that you need out of sight. Do the same thing to your walls, while keeping only valued family photos or artwork on them.

Do these things one small step at a time and you’ll eventually see a major change.

Take It Slow

Living a past-faced life seems to be everyone’s game. It’s common for people to multitask and switch between tasks. But doing this might be counterproductive.

If you want to create great things, you need to slow down. Rushing everything will only make more room for errors. Move slow and accomplish the right things.

Slowing down will also benefit you by being able to focus better and deeper, which will lead you to appreciate things, time, and people. When you learn to appreciate, you’ll know how to enjoy life. All in all, life will be less stressful and more peaceful.

The first step towards slowing down is to change your mindset. You have to understand and get a taste of what it feels like to live life slowly and to savor every moment. Admit to yourself just how much better life gets if you learn to take it slow.

To pursue life slowly, you need to do these things:

• Reduce your to-do list to the most essential tasks, about one to three of them. Do them first before doing routine tasks. • Schedule fewer meetings and focus longer amounts of time on the important things instead of being shuttled from one meeting to the next. • Disconnect at times. Start disconnecting for short periods of time, until you can do it for a day and indulge in your creativity. • Practice not rushing to get to appointments. Give yourself enough time to prepare for and travel to appointments instead of cramming things to your schedule. • Savor being lazy at times. Feel comfortable and enjoy doing nothing, until you get used to it. • Know that failing to get things done is alright. You don’t have to be frustrated and disappointed every time you have unfinished business. • Get rid of the fluff. Eliminate, automate or delegate them to others.